Footboard



J. T. POSEY June 6, 1961 FOOTBOARD 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 30, 1959 lllllllllllllll ms ma m0, T M JM J. T. PO-SEY June 6, 1961 FOOTBOARD 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 50, 1959 INVENTOR.

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. of frame support members.

, 2,986,747 FOOTBOARD John T.y Posey, 1739 Meadowbrook Road,

c Altadena, Calif. Filed Oct. 30, 1959, Ser. No. 849,920 3 Claims. (Cl. 5-92) Support issued June 23, 1959. Devices embodying the invention of that patent prevent permanent distortion of the long muscles in the vicinity of the Achilles tendon. The present invention is directed to the correction of that muscular disorder together with prevention ofk distortion of themuscles which control the angular displacement of the foot in the plane of the foot sole. Muscular disorder of this type results in the feet splaying apart permanently; and is caused by the feet being allowed to -splay for a long period of time while the person is confined in bed.

It is often possible to correct for the muscular dislocature which results in the feet being splayed apart by resorting to surgery. However, no surgical correction is possible if the muscles of the Achilles tendon area have beenhallowed to shorten by the prolonged positioning of the feet so thatgthe toes are rotated outwardly with respect to the line of the leg.

According to the present invention a foot support which comprises a transverse foot support member, to which-are` -attached two f oot restrainingblocks, is supported in a fixed position with respect to the bed by means of a pair The transverse foot support member, in the preferred embodiment of the invention,

.is,rotatableabout a horizontal axis and movable vertically iwith, respect to its height above the bed. This r0- Atatability and movability enables a single footboard to be utilized in a variety of situations. The pair of foot restraining blocks, in this embodiment, are attached to thentransverse foot support member in such a manner asindependently to be angularly, vertically, and horizontally positionable bothvwith respect to the transverse foot support member and to each other. In practice the feet ofthe person in bed are placed against the transverse foot vsupport member and the angle of rotation of the trans- ,yerseffoot support member adjusted to give the proper foot support for the muscles in the Achillestendon` region. 'I'he foot restraining blocks are then positioned so as to prevennthesplaying apart ofthe feet of the person in bed. t v

n In the preferred embodiment, the transverse foot support member issupported between the frame, support members so that its height above the bed and its rotated position are adjustable. However, in a less complex embodiment, the transverse foot support member may be .fixed illgposition both with respect to height andto angularrotation. In this alternate' embodiment, the advantage of adjustibility to accommodate the peculiarities of the individual application is not present.

United States Patent Each foot restraining block is padded and is supported Patented 1J une 6 1961 ICC of the advantage of adjustability to meet the needs of the individual application. blocks of the adjustable position type, theV foot restraining blocks may have, for example, pivots extending therefrom which extend throughy horizontal or vertical slots in the transverse foot support member. Any conventional means .is useable to secure the foot restraining block to the transverse footsupport member by means of the pivot. The transverse foot support member is similarly made movable between the frame support members by utilizing pivots extending from the transverse4 foot support member through longitudinal slots in the frame support members.A

The invention may be, morereadily understood by-reference to thegaccompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE l is a pictorial representation, partially in section, of a person in bed utilizinga foot ,support according .to the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a partial plan view of the footboard shown in FIG. 1;

FIGURE 3 is` a front elevation of the footboard partially shown in FIG. 2;

FIGURE 4 is a left side elevation of the ,footboard of FIG. 3; and

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view taken along lines SfS of FIG.` 3.

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a person r10 in a bed, 11. The bed 11 hasa longitudinal frame 12 upon which rests a footboard 13. A vmattress 14 serves to assist in holding the footboard 13 in place. Theperson 10 is covered by a blanket 15. As illustrated in FIG. l, only the right foot 16 of the person in bed. is shown. The right foot 16 rests yagainst a foot restraining block 17 of the footboard 13, the footboard 13 being shown partially in section in FIG. l. The foot restraining block .17 is secured `to a transverse foot support member-.18 by means of a wing nutl 19 which is attached to a threaded pivot bolt 20 extending from thefoot restraining block 17 through a slot (not shown, see FIG. 3) in the transverse foot support member 19 so as to form a lockable pivot. The footboard 13 also has a supporting base 21, to which are attached two frame support -membersjZZ (only one being shown in FIG. l) by means ofy a pair of hinges 23. The supporting base 21 restsonfthe longitudinal frame 12 under the mattress 14 and inv conjunction therewith serves to hold the footboard ;13 ina stationary position. The hinge 23 is'secured to1 the frame support member 22 by four screws 24. The foot restrainingvblock 17 is positioned on the Ytransverse vfoot support member 18 on aface 25 which faces the person 10.V

In FIG. 2, a partial plan viewjof the footboard 13 is shown. A second foot restraining block 30 is attached to the face 25 of the transverse foot support member 18 by means of a wing nut 31 enclosing va threaded pivot bolt :32 which is attached to the foot .restraining block 30. and

extends through a slot (not shown) in the transverse foot support member 18. The transverse .foot support member 18 is connected to the frame Vsupport memberZZ -by means of a bracket 34.` The transverse'foot support member 18is slidable vertically along the frame support member 22 and is heldinplace by a bolt 36 and wing nut 37 which. extend `through the bracketV 34 and .a slot (not shown, see FIG. 4) Ain the frame support member 2.2. The bolt 36 and wing nut 37 serve to secure the transverse foot support member 18 in a fixed position with respect to the frame support member 22. Four screws 38 attach the hinge 23 to the supporting base 21. Y

FIGURE 3 is a front elevation of the footboard 13. The transverse foot support member 18 has a pair of laterally aligned horizontal slots 40. Each of the horizontal slots 40 has a vertical slot 41 centrally disposed on each side thereof. As shown in FIG. V3, each of the When rutilizing foot restrainingY slots 40, 41 terminate at either end in an enlarged circular portion to facilitate the insertion and removal therethrough of the pivot bolts and wing nuts of the foot restraining blocks 17 and 30. The transverse foot support member 18 is connected to each bracket 34 by means of Afour nut and-bolt combinations 42. By loosensing the wing nuts 37, the transverse foot support member 18 may be rotated about the horizontal `axis formed by a line between the bolts 36. In addition, the transverse foot support member 18 thus can be raised or lowered with respect to the supporting base 21 and, therefore, the bed, which is preferably positioned between the supporting .base 21 and a lower edge 43 of the transverse foot support-member '18. The individual foot restraining blocks 17, 30 may, in addition, be moved to the required position by inserting the appropriate pivot bolt 20 or 31, re-

spectively, into one of the slots 40, 41 and tightening the wing nut 19 or 31, respectively.

FIGURE 4 shows a Ileft side elevation of the foot support 13. The frame support member 23 has a longitudinal slot 50 therein through which passes the pivot bolt 36 of the transverse foot support member 18. The longitudinal slot 50 has a large circular termination at either end in order to facilitate the insertion and removal therethrough of the pivot bolt 36 and the wing nut 37.

In FIG, 5, a sectional view of the footboard 13 taken i along line -5 of FIG. 3 is shown. The transverse foot support member 18 is indicated in its upright position. A lowered and inclined position is illustrated by the dotted lines, and the reference numerals 18', 34', and 36' indicate the positions of the transverse foot support member, bracket, and pivot bolt, respectively, when so lowered and inclined.

The embodiment illustrated in FIGS. l through 5 is the preferred embodiment. However, it is readily appreciated that a more economical, albeit less versatile, footboard results when any of the adjustable features are eliminated. For example, the transverse foot support member 18 may be fixed in height with respect to the supporting base 21. Alternately, or in addition, the angle of inclination of the transverse foot support member l18 may be permanently fixed. Further, by elimination of some of the slots 40, 41, the almost innite variety of positions in which the foot restraining blocks 17 and 30 may be `set is reduced. Also, the supporting base 21 may be eliminated and the frame support members 22 attached directly tothe longitudinal frame 12 or mattress 14.

`However, such alternate structures are within the contemplation of the present invention and the scope of the appended claims.

l. A footboard comprising a pair of frame support member-'s adapted to be disposed on opposite longitudinal sides of a bed, each frame support member having a longitudinal slot therein, a supporting base, means for xsaid height and the rotated position of the transverse foot support member, a pair of padded foot restraining blocks positioned between the frame support members, and means for fixing said foot restraining blocks to one face of the transverse foot support member and including a pair of horizontal slots laterally aligned in the transverse foot support member, a vertical slot centrally disposed on each side of each horizontal slot, `and a lockable pivot associated with each foot restraining block and adapted to be secured to a selected one of the slots in the transverse foot support member.

2. A footboard comprising a pair of frame support members adapted to be disposed on opposite longitudinal sides of a bed, -a supporting base, means for fixing the position of the frame support members with respect to the supporting base, a transverse foot support member positioned between the frame support members and connected thereto so as to be adjustable in height above the supporting base and to be rotatable about an axis between the frame support members and including means for fixing said height and the rotated position of the transverse foot support member, a pair of foot restraining blocks positioned between the frame support members, and means for fixing said foot restraining blocks to one face of the transverse foot support member so that each foot restraining block is angularly, vertically and horizontally positionable with respect both to the transverse foot support member and the other foot restraining block including a pair of laterally aligned rst slots in the transverse foot support member, a second slot disposed to one side of each rst slot, and lockable pivot means associated with each foot restraining block and adapted to be secured to a selected one of the slots in the transverse foot support member.

3. A footboard comprising a pair of frame support members adapted to be disposed on opposite longitudinal sides of a bed, a supporting base, means for fixing the position of the frame support members with respect to the supporting base, a transverse foot support member positioned between the frame support members and connected -thereto so as to be adjustable in height above the supporting base and to be rotatable about an axis between the frame support members and including means for xing the height and rotated position of the transverse foot support member, a pair of foot restraining blocks positioned between the frame support members, and means for fixing said foot restraining blocks to one face of the transverse foot support member including a pair of laterally aligned horizontal slots in the transverse foot support member, a vertical slot centrally disposed on each side of each horizontal slot, and lockable pivot means associated with each foot restraining block and adapted to be secured to a selected one of the slots in the transverse foot support member so that eachfoot restraining block is angularly, vertically and horizontally positionable with respect "to the transverse foot support member and the other foot re'- straining block.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,702,542 Gessel Feb. 22, 1955 2,720,878 Hickman Oct. 18; 195,5

2,736,131 Lewis.l Feb. 28, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 475,589 l Great Britain Nov. 23, 1937 

